The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Furlough and UC could be extended
Rishi Sunak has indicated he will extend emergency job and benefit support packages in Wednesday’s Budget.
The chancellor said he wanted to “support people and businesses along the path” out of lockdown, but warned there would need to be work to repair the public finances from the “enormous shock” of the pandemic with an “honest and fair” plan.
Treasury sources have suggested the chancellor is hoping to claw back cash by freezing income tax thresholds for at least three years.
Mr Sunak was said to be considering a freeze on the £12,500 point at which people start paying the basic rate of income tax and the £50,000 threshold where they begin paying the higher 40p rate, as he aims to raise £43 billion a year.
The move would allow Mr Sunak to raise £6bn without breaking the manifesto pledge that guaranteed the Conservatives would not raise the “rate” of income tax.
The Treasury has also not denied reports that corporation tax could be increased from 19% to 25% in a bid to further boost UK Government coffers.
Despite worries over national debt, Mr Sunak has suggested support packages for jobs and businesses would continue.
He said: “I think it’s right that the support aligns with the roadmap.
“I said at the beginning of this crisis that I would do whatever it took to protect people, families and businesses through this crisis and I remain completely committed to that. The prime minister in the road map set out a path for us to recover and reopen and I want to support people and businesses along that path.
“I’m not going to comment on specific policies but I want to make sure people realise that we are going to be there to support them and if you look at our track record we went big, we went early and there’s more to come next week.”
He also appeared to suggest he understood the arguments for keeping the Universal Credit uplift.
Asked if the £20 per week uplift would be removed, he said: “Budget on Wednesday, there’s a place where we’ll set out all of our next stages of our response, but I know that that uplift has made a difference to people over the past 12 months.
“It’s one part of a comprehensive plan that we’ve put in place.”
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will this week launch the world’s first sovereign green savings bond for retail investors, allowing savers to help drive the UK’s transition to net-zero by 2050.
Savers will be able to buy bonds in the knowledge they are contributing towards projects that will accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, create green jobs, and support the collective effort to tackle climate change, while saving money at the same time.
The new bonds will be offered through NS&I, the Treasurybacked savings organisation which offers Premium Bonds and other savings products. They are expected to go on sale this year.
Mr Sunak, who will officially launch them in his Budget speech on Wednesday, said: “The UK is a global leader on tackling climate change, with a clear target to reach net-zero by 2050 and a 10-point plan to create green jobs as we transition to a greener future.
“In a world first, we’re launching a new green savings bond which will give people across the UK the opportunity to contribute to the collective effort to tackle climate change.
“We’re also launching new competitions that will unlock innovation in renewable energy and help us develop the cutting-edge technology we need to reach net-zero.”